EP 127: Jesse Firestone
July 18, 2022
Jesse on ‘Sharma Traverse’ V10 in Bishop, CA. Photo by Charlie Egan.
Jesse Firestone is an elite boulderer, a climbing coach, and a climbing philosopher. He’s also a good friend of mine from Oregon. We talked about quantum leaps in our progression as climbers, Jesse’s top 3 tips for climbers at different stages, non-physical factors that affect our performance, tips for flashing hard boulders, training changes after age 30, and much more. You can learn more about Jesse at jfireclimbing.com
*If you liked my episodes with Emil Abrahamsson and Martin Keller, don’t skip this one!
Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts
Check out other episodes with Jesse:
Fundamentals Series (Jan-Mar 2023)
EP 191: Jesse Firestone Returns (Oct 2023)
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Show Notes:
Other Related Episodes:
Jesse’s Performance Pyramid:
Click here for the full post! (@coachjfire)
Torso Positions:
Instagram post about torso positions (@coachjfire)
Jesse’s Videos:
J-Lo (Jesse's Low Start) V11 FKA (the pebble + Tough Strips story)
3 Tips for Beginners:
1. Film yourself and write down stuff that you do
2. Take every opportunity you get to do the sport in a different context (and climb with different people)
3. Take up a hobby that has good synergy with climbing
3 Tips for Outdoor-Focused Climbers:
1. Have a rough plan of your year (trips, performance seasons, training seasons, rest periods, etc)
2. Write down your life list of inspiring climbs, and put it where you have to see it
3. Get better at being outside
Jesse’s Tips for Flashing Boulders:
Most Important Thing:
Know yourself, and know if this is the time/day
The Steps:
1. Inspect it, clean it, try to figure out how you are going to grab the holds, check sun aspect, check wind, how many pads, etc.
2. One cycle of watching videos, looking at the boulder, and then watching videos again
3. Conceive how you are going to climb it
4. Visualization
5. Be ready to surprise yourself, and be curious about what is going to happen
Other References:
First Ascent (movie)
King Lines (movie)
Sit Start to the Big Island with book under the kneepad
Jesse’s Links:
Nuggets:
0:06:17 – Breakfast, considerations when building a home wall, and how to make climbing holds out of plywood
0:12:24 – Skin conditioning, and dishwashing gloves
0:15:19 – Applying too much stuff to our skin
0:16:56 – Climbing volume, and trying to add more things to make our injuries better
0:18:39 – Being obsessive
0:21:15 – Jesse’s first rest day
0:23:31 – Jesse’s early mentors in climbing, and taking opportunities when they come
0:25:28 – Identifying as a boulderer early on, and wishing he had rested more
0:27:53 – The Portland phase, and how to get pure raw strength in the climbing gym
0:31:27 – Dropping out of college to hit the road for 7 months, and why Jesse’s climbing ability skyrocketed
0:33:08 – The Bend phase
0:35:41 – How Jesse got into coaching
0:38:02 – Emotional regulation, mindset, and common mistakes
0:41:01 – An introduction to Jesse’s Performance Pyramid
0:43:30 – The tiers of the Performance Pyramid
0:47:52 – Jesse’s consistency, and which elements of the pyramid climbers are most resistant to
0:50:11 – Changing our circumstances, and thinking of our lifestyles as an investment
0:52:25 – Quantum leaps
0:54:07 – Spray walls, and the distractions of the climbing gym
0:56:24 – Jesse’s spray wall soapbox
0:58:01 – Emotional regulation strategies (breathing and mantras)
1:03:20 – Emotional regulation strategies (easy climbing with no agenda, and learning to climb alone)
1:04:57 – Beta selection, and the language we speak on the wall
1:07:39 – Pivoting of the torso
1:11:09 – Tough Strips
1:13:31 – MacGyvering solutions, and thinking outside the box
1:17:30 – Beating your head against bad beta, and the importance of finishing climbs
1:21:13 – “We’re all going to hit a point where we’re not climbing harder anymore.”
1:25:53 – 3 tips for beginners
1:32:54 – 3 tips for outdoor-focused climbers
1:37:02 – Summary of 3 tips lists
1:37:43 – Practicing technique on rock
1:38:35 – Flashing boulders, flash ethics, and tips that helped Jesse flash his first V10
1:49:43 – Two hard highball first ascents that Jesse climbed in 2021 (see show notes for videos)
2:00:58 – Why Jesse named one of his highballs Imposter Syndrome
2:03:24 – Being proud of the two highball FAs, and Jesse’s thoughts on repeating established highballs
2:04:36 – Exploring the feeling of being afraid, and exposure therapy
2:05:44 – Patron question from Xander: Have you had to make changes to your training after turning 30?
2:09:54 – Thinking in campaigns/seasons
2:13:31 – Fear, uncertainty, and doubt (FUD)
2:14:37 – Doing more training after 30
2:15:57 – Patron question from Joe: At what level of strength do we experience diminishing returns, and is it worth training the hinge if you can maintain that level without training it directly? (Ex. double bodyweight deadlift)
2:18:25 – Patron question from Joe: What is one piece of advice Jesse wishes he had taken earlier? (mastery, and being a barbarian)
2:20:44 – Patron question from Christopher: How do you handle it mentally if you start regressing on a project? (setting early goals for a session)
2:22:33 – Going into projects with inertia, and knowing when to walk away
2:25:03 – Why Jesse is moving to Leavenworth
2:26:37 – Using a yoga block to train for narrow compression moves on a V12
2:29:47 – Jesse’s thoughts on what it would take for him to climb V14
2:35:47 – Why Jesse and I are thankful for one another, and finding a climbing partner who will cut through your bullshit